1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus configured to perform a process such as a thin film forming process, an oxidation process, an impurity diffusing process, an annealing process, and an etching process on a substrate such as a semiconductor substrate, and more particularly, to a substrate processing apparatus capable of controlling a substrate processing motion and a method of displaying an abnormal state of the substrate processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A substrate processing apparatus includes a motion (operation) control unit configured to control a carrying mechanism used to carry a substrate for performing a substrate processing. The motion control unit sends a motion instruction to an actuator for motion control, and the actuator is operated according to the motion instruction within its rated torque range for preventing a failure. However, operation within a rated torque range does not always guarantee safety of all carrying mechanisms of the substrate processing apparatus.
Each carrying mechanism has a preset safe torque range, and the carrying mechanism can be stably controlled by using the safe torque range. That is, when a material is transported, the material can be less vibrated.
However, if vibration is excessively suppressed, carrying speed and throughput are decreased. On the other hand, if carrying speed is largely increased, the carrying mechanism may be stopped due to the operation of a collision detection sensor (e.g., a vibration sensor) installed at the carrying mechanism.
In a conventional substrate processing apparatus, it is unclear whether a halt is caused by torque limitation or a vibration sensor, and thus a proper alarm cannot be generated according to the reason of the halt.
Furthermore, in a conventional substrate processing apparatus, by using a torque limitation function of an actuator used for motion control, torque control is possible. However, if once the torque limitation function is set, since a torque control operation is performed on any motion, unnecessary stopping may occur due to the torque control operation.
In the conventional art, an adjustment tool for registering torque limitation values is additionally prepared, and each actuator is accessed to adjust an interface between the actuator and a carrying mechanism. However, such adjustment is not easy because the adjustment tool has to be transported to a customer's clean room to adjust the carrying mechanism and the interface.